BHS Day 9: Freedmen's Bureau

Hi! For today's ELM Spotlight, I chose something that would probably fit a bit closer with politics than ELM, but I ultimately put it here because this organization gave Blacks a lot in the way of educational and medical assistance following the Civil War. I included the photo for this organization because not only is it offensive and I wanted to show just how we were depicted during this time, but this is how the organization was seen during its heyday. The Freedmen's Bureau saw obstacles at every turn, the biggest two obstacles being other politicians and the President at the time, and was eventually shut down by Congress. Most people would deem it a failure, but I think without the Freedmen's Bureau, the government may have developed an entirely different look at social welfare issues, possibly preventing the creation of social agencies that help millions of impoverished Americans today. I also wanted to learn about this organization as I had no idea it did so much for creating educational and medical opportunities for newly freed Blacks. 

Name: Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, or the Freedmen's Bureau
Date of establishment and founders: March 1865 by the Congressional War Department

Purpose of organization: To help both slaves and poverty-stricken Whites gain an economic and financial foothold following the Civil War, but ultimately fell to tensions built between Congress and the President

Why is the Spotlight on it today? For being the first real attempt by the government to provide help for newly freed Blacks following the end of slavery and starting the community down its road of fighting for equal opportunities at life

Notables and accomplishments:
--Provided medicine, food and clothing to those who were displaced and left without following the war
--Helped both Black and poor White children attend public schools, both for elementary and higher education by establishing schools specifically for them or finding schools that were in support of the Bureau
--Helped former slaves to obtain legal marriage certificates 
--Attempted to redistribute abandoned lands to Black laborers trying to purchase their own lots of land
--Helped in the long-term by introducing the government and by extension, the country, to the issues of social welfare, government assistance for the impoverished
--Tried to help the poor and newly freed to gain labor contracts and other employment
--Built hospitals and provided medical aid to those unable to receive care from White hospitals or those too poor to afford regular medical care
Research resources and further reading links: History |African-American Records | Freedmen's Bureau | Khan Academy | 

Quote of the Day:
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
--13th Amendment of the US Constitution, Section 1